Corrupt: A SVTFOE Story
by SaltyLoaf
Summary: Marco has began to hear voices, telling him awful things he had no interest in hearing. The desire for peace of mind drove the boy from the castle, sending the royals into a panic. Where had he gone? Marco dwells in the forest, waiting, hoping, theorizing. What could possibly be causing him such distress. And was there any way for him to return?
1. Prologue

The sky was dark where the boy walked, the clouds aggressively blocking all rays of hope the sun may have provided. The wind blew fast and strong, it tugging at his short hair as he shivered along the side of the trail. It was cold, oh so cold. But there was no turning back now. In the distance, across the mountains, the tip of a castle could be seen, its magnificence naturally dragging him towards it. But he could not return there. He was not welcome there. Or at least… not anymore.

Crowds passed by the miserable boy in dozens, whispering gossip to each other. Speculating. His red hoodie, tattered and dirty, was draped over his entire body, covering all but one thing. His right arm was slipped under the hoodie's opening, the rest of his body huddled inside of the ragged cloth. It showed no sign of difference, no sign of anything out of the ordinary. But he could feel it. Voices in his head taunted him continuously, nearly driving him mad. He couldn't take their complaints anymore. They were telling him to leave, leave his family behind. So he complied. After all, they were the only friends he had left.

" _You're a freak Marco."_ they would scream, over and over again in his brain. He begged them to stop, but they refused, it getting worse by the day. His arm had started to feel strange lately. Around the same time as the voices had began their torture. The boy had not slept in weeks. Rocking back in forth in bed, pressing his hands against his temples. " _Make them stop. Make them stop."_ But help never came.

So he left. The plan had been formulating for days, weeks, probably months on end. All he had needed was a sign, a sign he wasn't overreacting. And he listened. People screamed from the balcony, begging for him to come back and talk with them. _We still love you. It'll not be the same without you. Please, don't go._ Lies. All lies. That night, as Marco strode out the gates of the castle into the forest, a smile stretched across his face. He didn't need them anyway.

Seven long nights he waited, waited for more guidance. With no home, no friends, and nothing left for comfort… his voices were all he had left. Had he gone mad? Was this a joke? Or simply just a bad dream? Any answer would have been better and possibly more believable than the truth. It would take days to realise, but Marco finally found it. This was reality. And there was no turning back now.

Day by day, week by week, the tingling in his arm became more frequent. The memories of his old life faded, slowly drifting away into the abyss. There was no need for any of them now anyway. All that mattered now was the present. The voices became more frequent as well, now becoming more aware of the world surrounding their host. They grow up so fast. Every day they would have small conversations, them increasing in length as the days stretched into weeks. With his new friends' help, the boy built himself a shelter, a small treehouse in a nearby forest. It sure wasn't a castle, but it beats sleeping on rocks. For the first time since he had left, Marco finally felt at home again.

It wasn't long before they started to send out search parties. Every night after dusk. The shine of the wands through the underbrush caught his attention each time, memories flooding back into his emptied brain before quickly receding. Every day his desire to return grew, but so did his relationship with his parasites. It seemed to be quite… symbiotic. The princess would call out to him, yanking at his broken heart. But even if he could, he would not return. He didn't want her to see him like this.

The arm had evolved. It was part of him now. As the teens weeped in their dwellings, alone once again….evil had thrived. Growing inside its host. Growing stronger by the day. Waiting for the perfect day to strike. As the rulers of Mewnie lay peacefully asleep in their beds, a new evil was brewing just off the coast of their pure kingdom. War was coming… and sooner than you think.


	2. Chapter 1 - Sweet Dreams

_All around her was a pool of darkness, an ocean of ink. A voice seemed to call her in the distance, but she could not identify it. The mumbles got louder and louder by the second, her ears aching from the pain. She wanted it to end, but there seemed to be no escape. She was trapped … alone…. with them. The girl longed to muffle the noise, cover her ears, even if only for a second. Sadly each moment brought her farther down, further into the mud below her._

" _What is my name? Who am I?" pleaded the girl, pure terror plaguing her voice from the moment it began._

 _At the edge of the shore appeared a small pink dresser, a purple butterfly in the center. Her bedside table from when she was a child. A small mobile appeared above it, the small monsters waving in the nonexistent wind. She longed for those days, when her mind was full of dreams and ambitions. A warnicorn breeder, a rebel princess… those days were gone now. Nothing would matter now. A small headband materialized on the dresser, its red horns extending from its sides. Tom… she remembered when a simple love triangle was the worst of her worries. She weeped now as she reminisced, sinking farther and farther down._

 _Moments later the items had faded away, leaving nothing but misery behind. All hope was lost for her. She wondered what was happening outside of her mind, her mother, father, friends. Did they even notice her absence? It had seemed as if weeks had passed in this endless chamber, wandering on for eternity. Pondering. Wondering. Her conscience had been on a hunt for weeks, a search for a purpose. The conflict with herself seemed to be the greatest of all she had faced, those at least bringing her back into reality._

 _Memories were fading fast, simply replaced by nightmares. It had been this way for months now, ever since her friend had left her for another. What was his name again? His coffee stained locks burned into her memory like a brand, each moment further scarring her emotions. His cherry colored hoodie stared back at her like a mirror, reflecting back a place of refuge, a place of hope. Oh how she still longed for those days. All of the fun adventures they had shared together across dimensions, across timelines. Why did those days have to end? Happy times appeared as the last flecks of light in a starless sky._

 _Maybe that was her name. Star. A magical princess from another dimension, far far away. The thought made her chuckle. She was such an idiot back then. No knowledge of the future, not a care in the world. A fulfilling life, but one that would shoot her in the back in the present. The destruction she caused was….. unfathomable. She was a better princess now. No time to distract herself with petty things like joy and adventure. Times of the past. The thoughts brought tears to her eyes. "_ _Baloo-balee, baloo-balow. I let you go, I let you go." I let you go…. I let you go._

Then, and only then, did she finally wake up.

Knock. Knock. Knock. The sun shone through the windows of the flimsy structure, causing the boy to stretch and yawn. New day, new routine. The boy climbed down from his ladder, shaking it as he walked along the thin boards. The trees around him swayed in the wind, birds chirping along to the tune. Today was going to be a good day. Fruits grew on the trees beside him, beckoning to him across the landscape But yet, something about today seemed off. Could it be the intense pains he had in his skull? Or perhaps the aches emitting from his left arm? No. No way. Nothing could possibly be wrong in such a perfect Utopia.

Somehow though, despite his positivity, a certain dark aura seemed to float through the air. Marco has only been out for a couple of months, but it already felt like home. Here, he wouldn't have to deal with any people... only himself and the animals around him. Sure he still remembered his old life, but that didn't matter now. He didn't need them. Friends only brought him down at this point, not allowing for him to reach his full potential. Or at least that's what his only true friend told him.

He had appeared into Marco's life only about a month ago from now. And to think that he could have ever been scared of him. "You are special." "It won't be long now." "You just have to wait for it." He was so motivational. He really understood him, more than Star ever could. It took him a while to understand that fact, the first couple of weeks being torture. He would sit alone in the forest, hiding from each patrol passing by. _They don't care about me, they never have and never will. I don't need them. They will be better off without me._

The truth was though…. he did still care for them. Nothing that his new friend told him could ever change that. He sensed their misery, their despair in his disappearance. He wanted to run back to them, comfort them, lay their worries to rest. Assure them he was alive, un-kidnapped, unscathed. But he knew that he was no longer welcome there. A tear left his eye as he looked at his arm…. he was a freak. Long purple veins crawled up his arm like string, his hand being a deep shade of purple. If he returned, would they ever look at him the same way again? He was no longer Marco the Human. He was Marco the Monster.

He knew very well the Mewmans' opinion on people like him…...… he had seen the various documentations of their pride in his people's defeat. Each fight brought more cruelty and unfairness to their agreement, the Monsters forced to cower in the far corners of Mewnie while the "greater" Mewmans got the rest. It was pure discrimination, and Marco was not about to stand for it. As much as he cared for the royals of the kingdom, he knew defeating them was the only way to rise up. He would be able to tell his story, either that or die on the battlefield in glory. It was the only way to rise up.

" _Not long now Marco. Our plan has no possibility of failure now. Just stay patient child. Gather our forces, strike by night. Master the element of surprise. They will never see us coming."_


	3. Chapter 2 - Trauma

The leaves crackled under his feet as he strode through the wilderness, his salmon colored hair flowing the strong breeze. The prince had been especially worried lately about Star, the girl not having come out of her room for weeks. And he didn't even know why.

Even Tom was not sure why he decided to visit her at this hour. Even down in the Underworld it was still 3 am.

Dim light emitted from the tip of the boy's hair, it casting an orange shadow on the bushes on either side. He seemed to be the only one there physically, but somehow he had the feeling that he was being watched. Watched from all directions, all surfaces, all angles. He needed to get inside quick.

Bushes rattled behind him, sending a cold shiver down his spine. With a deep breath, Tom still continued forward, not wanted to give up hope of seeing his princess at long last. Thoughts of Star filled his mind, her bubbly persona bringing a goofy grin to his cheeks. It was then when he saw it.

He only saw it for less than a tick, it flying by like a high speed jet plummeting towards the ground. The shadow seemed to retreat back to the bushes, almost as if it was never there. The boy couldn't take it anymore. This forest was driving him mad. Still glued to the ground, he searched for cover, only finding a small pond hidden in-between a few of the densely packed trees. It was the best he had. Saying a single prayer to those below him, he jumped in.

He was not used to the cold depths of water. He had only been in it once before, and he had never considered ever going alone. The sheer mention of the experience brought terror to his mind, but none of that mattered now. All he had to do now was wait.

A few brief moments passed where nothing happened, nearly prompting him to come out of his cover and continue on. Soon though he floated there petrified, as he finally saw his pursuer in full view.

The shadow had a disfigured shape, it having small remnants of a human form. It loomed over the water like an grizzly bear over its prey, it's piercing yellow eyes staring straight through him. However, as quickly as it had appeared, it left without a trace.

Tom peaked his head out from his hiding spot, taking in a deep breath of relief. This encounter could only mean one thing. He knew those eyes anywhere, the mark of a deadly parasite taking another victim.

He needed to warn Star before it was too late.

Star woke up in a cold sweat. What just happened? Looking around her, it appeared as if she was still in her own room. That was good to see. However, the rest of her surroundings told a majorly different story. Half of her furniture was dripping wet despite it being completely normal the day before, sending a cold shiver down her spine. Her balcony door was flung open, swift Mewman wind blowing the curtains towards the center of the room. What happened here? The sky was dark, signalling it was still early morning. All of Mewnie was quiet, gentle citizens and criminals alike still soundly asleep in their beds. The thought put her mind at ease.

Suddenly, a loud bang erupted from inside her closet. The sound made the girl jump, prompting a small squeak to escape from her mouth. Then, silence. Her mind rattled with questions as she slowly tip-toed towards the ajar door of her "closet of secrets." Only God knows what she would find in there. Could it be a robber? Monster? Taking one last deep breath, Star slowly peered in through the cracks of

the door frame.

"Tom?!"

The demon was curled up into a small ball rocking back and forth, muttering to himself as if in a trance. The anger in Star's face immediately changed to concern as she waved her hand in front of his stone-faced expression. No response. He was soaked head-to-toe, causing steam to rise up from his skin. She began leaning in closer, trying to decipher the phrase he seemed to be repeating over and over again under his breath.

"He's… back. H...he's back. H..h.. he's.. back."

The girl's eyes widened as she listened intently to the traumatized boy before her, gawking in horror. "Who's back..."

"M… monster. Monster is back. The time has come. R…..run. For me. Pl… please."

Tom grew more pale by the second. There was something he wasn't telling her. Why was he so wet? What had happened to him? It was then that she felt a gentle tap on her shoulder. She was petrified.

"Fly you fool."

Star didn't hesitate. She gripped down hard on her wand and turned around, finding nothing there. It didn't matter. Taking one last glance at crippled boy behind her, Star lept from her balcony, summoning a small cloud beneath her to break the fall. She kept running and never looked back. Straight into the Forest of Certain Death.


End file.
